sga_saturday | For Week #21: Tattoo: Quake (John/Rodney, PG)

esteefee posting in

Title: Quake!
Available as podfic: here.
Author:

esteefee
Pairing: John/Rodney
Category: Series, Established Relationship, AU
Words: 664
Summary: There was an earthquake here just now, a sharp one, not long, but it made me wonder how Rodney would react to his first quake in SF in the Fair Trade 'verse. :)

Quake!

by esteefee

It starts with what feels like a truck rumble but really isn't—John doesn't know how he knows the difference, he just does, and he sees the growing awareness in Rodney's eyes that turns into disbelief and then panic quickly enough as the rumble becomes a downright shaking.

John just pulls him back against the wall and says, "Hey, don't worry—"

"Earthquake!" Rodney says, predictably enough, and the other customers are murmuring and half rising in their chairs, but John is waiting for how steep the rise before he decides to take any further action, so he just wraps an arm around Rodney to steady them both as the glasses and cups start to rattle a tattoo on the shelves behind the counter.

"Shh, just give it a second," John says.

"Are you out of your mind? We need to find something sturdy to get under!"

"We're good right here. Wait two shakes."

"Oh, ha-ha," Rodney says, and his fingers are damp clutching the fabric of John's shirt just beneath the ties of his apron, bunching it up and knotting against his waist. Rodney really is terrified, John realizes, and he ducks his cheek against Rodney's temple.

"Hey, 's okay. Almost over."

John's right—the crest has already peaked, and the shaking dies down—not even a 5.0, John estimates, and the cups stop their jittering tattoo.

"C'mon," he says when everything goes quiet and people start chatting in relieved tones. "Now comes the fun part."

"Fun? You have got to be kidding," Rodney says shakily.

"Oh, yeah. It's time for the pool. Whoever comes closest to the magnitude on the Richter scale gets free coffee for a week," John says, raising his voice. "We'll look it up on the USGS live earthquake maps."

"Freak." But Rodney is looking better, his face growing pink in reaction.

"Yup. You wouldn't have me any other way." John grins and gives Rodney a kiss, brushing his sweaty hair from his forehead. Rodney kisses him back, his damp fingertips sending shivers tickling up John's spine.

"I'm going with 4.9," John says, and he tugs Rodney over to the espresso machine. Definitely he's sneaking Rodney the decaf this afternoon, whether he likes it or not.

"Everything was jumping around in back, boss. Put me down for a 5.5," Ahs says, coming in from the storage area.

"You got it," John says. He pulls out a pad of paper and starts a table.

Rodney sticks a little close most of the afternoon, his hands brushing against John's sides or tangling in the strings of John's apron. And maybe John snags Rodney by the pocket of his sweatshirt and steals a kiss or two, but John notices nobody is complaining.

Especially when John wins the earthquake pool himself, and ends up buying everyone coffee on the house.

End.

ETA: (we just had another quake, so) The Porny Aftershock:

"What's that?" Rodney says as the bed starts to rock.

John rolls him over and pins him down. "Just me, baby, rockin' your world—"

"Oh, shut up, that is terrible." Rodney squirms underneath him. "It's another one, isn't it?"

Yeah, it is, an aftershock, and longer but less severe, near as John can tell. He waits with Rodney while the bed shakes, and watches Punk tilt her head toward the window as if she can see what's causing it.

"Some warning you were," Rodney says to her bitterly, and John bites back a grin.

The old apartment sways a little and groans in its foundation, then settles.

"Welp, that's that," John says. "Can we get back to business?" He nudges his hard-on against Rodney's hip.

"What, now?"

John gives Rodney's jawline a little nibble. "E-yup."

"Fine," Rodney says, long-suffering, but John notices Rodney's dick doesn't seem any less interested pressed against his, hot and hard and fitting so neatly against John's hip as he begins thrusting.

The bed starts rocking again, but neither of them cares.

Really The End.

A/N: It's bull that you should get under something sturdy: being next to a supporting wall is much better, just FYI. Steel doors are great.